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"longer off topic comments" - Episode 33 Life Outside Ambridge
"longer off topic comments" - Episode 33 Life Outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
Happy Burns Day!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed GG - trust your furniture will arrive safely today and that you can then recover in comfort. Wish you well soon!
ReplyDeleteRuthy ahhhh 🤗
Thanks Lady R.
DeleteSofas arriving between 13.00 & 15.00 it has been claimed. And they had better be as comfy as I remember them, because I'm planning on taking up residence on the largest one for at least the next 24 hours...!
Hope it's a better day today GG.
DeleteMust have missed reading you are not well Gary - I hope a good laze on your new sofa and a few hot toddies will do the trick. Will you be indulging in haggis with neeps an’ all tonight, or is that Hogmanay? 🏴
DeleteHappy burns day from me. Hope you are feeling a bit better today?🍸🍹
DeleteDitto GG at least the whole weekend on your new sofa to aid recovery - but don’t spill your “medicinal” 😂 wee dram all over it....
DeleteHappy Burns day from me too. Get well soon
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a bottle of malt whisky ready ,Gary.
DeleteIf the sofas arrived on time perhaps you have started on it already.
Purely medicinal of course.
Miriam I left a comment for you right at the end of the last closed blog. I was saying please could you tell how you make your turkey mince meatballs as they sounded nice, or is it a secret recipe?! I thought they could be used instead of haggis with mashed potato and swede tonight. Yum!
ReplyDeleteGG - give us your favourite Burns!
ReplyDelete"My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose" or "John Anderson my Jo", both as sung by Eddi Reader... Well worth a Google!
DeleteGG --- I wanted "Till a' the seas gang dry" engraved on my and my husband's wedding rings but it wouldn't fit! Gosh I was an old romantic then!😊
DeleteLoved Andy Stewart singing "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose."
DeleteHope you are improving Gary.
ReplyDeleteMy surname is Burns. I may have a whiskey tonight to celebrate.
Thought Mr PrbY might suggest going out but he’s informed me he’s off to the pub on the way home.
Never mind, night in over the fire watching crap telly again. Bliss.
Sounds good to me ptby 🤗 🔥 🤗
DeleteGG Hope your new sofas arrived on time.
ReplyDeleteMy new suite was due by 4.00pm at latest. It arrived at 6.15pm, the delivery lorry blocked my cul-de-sac. I was not popular as others couldn't get in or out, but it waa only for 15- 20 mins. The old furniture was taken out + put on lorry, the new one was unloaded and left on drive. The lorry was then moved.
A "next door but one" neighbour appeared, shouting + swearing very loudly at me. She was arriving home after collecting a take-away at that time (as a teacher she had arrived back very much earlier) l get on well with her husband and two sons, plus the 3 dogs, but she just ignores me!
I did a big store cupboard stock up at a major supermarket today - first initial being S. I was appalled at the half empty shelves, the dim lighting and lack of cash desks open. As a jigsaw lover, I picked up a Wasjig puzzle for £6.50, a good price. The cashier told me thst as it wouldn't scan.as not on the system, I could not buy it.
ReplyDeleteI asked to see to see someone in charge, as my arguement was that if it on a shelf to be sold, it should be.
I was taken to one side, and after a lot of talk + computer research, I eventually was able to buy it.
I was determined but stayed nice + calm. It was the principle.
I am looking forward to doing it and will feel smug.😂😂
Good for you, glad you stuck to your guns, Miriam !
DeleteA shop that doesn't want to sell stuff! Very strange.
DeleteMiriam, I sympathise! I also shop weekly at a big supermarket with the initial S.
DeleteIt is the nearest supermarket to me, a very large one, and I have shopped there ever since it opened over 20 years ago.
Yesterday I went to do my first big shop after arriving home from Dubai and had a long list.
I found the fruit and vegetable isles half empty, many varieties totally out of stock. The meat isles have become dreadful over the past few months - full of chicken bits, sausages and mince but virtually no joints of meat for a Sunday roast (am I the only person who still does a proper roast on Sunday and gets at least 2 or 3 other meals from the leftovers?)
The cooked meats, cheese and dairy isles have been half replaced by a Sushi franchise at which I have never seen anyone actually buying anything.
The grocery isles had big gaps, where stock had not been refilled.
And finally, and most frustrating, the self-scan and pack facility, which I rely on when doing a big shop alone, had broken down AGAIN!
What is happening to this huge organisation, where my Mum shopped since 1920, and I have shopped all my married life (49 years).
I think since the family who ran it for over 100 years have stopped being involved, the organisation has gone to rot.
Can anyone recommend an alternative supermarket which is always well stocked and gives friendly and helpful service?
Um, I hesitate to do this for many reasons, but I have found my local W------es fulfil many of the above criteria and I have found them second to none when it comes to fresh vegetables - variety and quality! The staff are wonderful also and nothing is too much trouble. Admittedly recently the supply line does not seem as good as it once was , but I think the competition is so cut-throat these days that it is affecting quality generally. They also seem to be reasonably environmentally conscious and there is a good choice of organic food, which I like.
DeleteLanJan - PTBY reminded me with her comment. Rubbish cricket again!! 😒
ReplyDeleteBut there is always the next weekend when - Hooray! - The Six Nations begins! 🏈
And there is always my local team to support in the FA Cup tomorrow (I know it's not called that any longer but I can't keep up with the names of the various sponsors!) Go Gillingham Go! 🏆
(You can see I have my laptop back, courtesy of Frankfurt Airport security where I left my grey computer in their grey trays!! My youngest son is buying me a brightly coloured 'skin' to stick on it so I notice it when getting my belongings together after scanning!)
Re Cricket,
DeleteI don't know what it is all coming to Spicycushion.
I don't know who some of the members of the team are and those who I recognise are not doing well.
I went to watch England in the West Indies at a time when we had recognised players who could bat and bowl.
It isn't even as if the West Indies have the excellent players they had in those days.
Sorry PtbY and Seasider I have never thought that Root is good Captain.
On the other hand,who else is there?
Six hundred and odd in the second innings-a walk in the park!
🤣
DeleteI just love haggis, neeps + tatties which I have often eaten.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy all!
Ruthy have you ever tasted haggis?
ReplyDeleteI understand that it is a banned substance in the USA due to its contents.
Still in Scotland it is still so well loved and always eaten on Burns Night.
I love these traditions, and long will they continue.
Will Kenton do a Burns Night Supper at The Bull, with Jazzer on the bagpipes.
Jim will love it.
We had haggis, neeps and tatties last weekend because I thought I would be away. Could fancy it again tonight.
DeleteGary, I love Eddie Reader. She has a beautiful voice. John Anderson My Jo is gorgeous.
Hope the sofas have arrived and you can be warm and comfy if not as well as you would like this Burns night.
I believe there’s been mention of a celebration in the Bull.
Miriam - never have - I just googled what haggis is and why it is banned in the US. Well for that reason and because I am a vegetarian, sorry to say won't ever know what it tastes like.
DeleteThough food traditions are the most wonderful way to celebrate life and memories.
Ruthy, vegetarian haggis tastes much better than "real" haggis - I don't know a single soul who would eat "real" haggis!
Deleteand what are neeps and tattis?
DeleteGG - not sure I would like the vegetarian version either
I haven't ever eaten 'real' haggis but I do like the vegetarian version.
DeleteRuthy - Neeps are swedes, usually mashed with butter and tatties are mashed potatoes. They are traditional accompaniments to haggis.
Thank you Spicycushion - when I googled veg haggis, saw an advertisement for haggis in a box with neeps and tatties - now it all makes sense to me. Everything you need! Reminds me of Thanksgiving meals where turkey and all the sides are really to eat.
DeleteDid have ahaggis years ago - delicious ! (&, yes, with neeps & tatties...)
DeleteI've had 'real' and veg haggis. I think I enjoyed both, though the first was before I became vegetarian and I would be far too squeamish to eat it now. On the latter occasion, my hostess asked me to bring a veg haggis. I tracked one down in a real butcher's, where the staff wore white coats with lumps of fat and blood on, a sight I hadn't seen for some time. On arrival at the party venue, I put the veg haggis in the fridge, where it joined several others. Hostess must have been supplied with haggis for a fortnight!
DeleteHope you're feeling less rough this evening, GG, but these viruses often take their time these days...still, whisky surely eases the misery a little ? AND the new sofa - was it delivered, as promised ?
ReplyDeleteHello carolyn! Sofas arrived, and they are even nicer than I remembered from first seeing them almost 10 weeks ago - and they are staggeringly comfy to boot...
ReplyDeleteFeeling much better thank you. Well enough to have just scoffed an entire bar of Lindt Creme Brulé chocolate at any rate. No whisky 'tho - not had any boozahol since Boxing Day!!
Safely tucked up in bed right now listening to the radio. All is well with the world...
Great ! And soon it'll be zzzzzzz....time
DeleteGoing back to the closed blog : glad you came to a decision, MrsP, about fostering the dog. Can imagine the inner struggle, I think. You've been on the look out for quite a while & it's got to feel right, hasn't it, or it won't work, either for you or her. I do hope a match really clicks this year !
ReplyDeleteThanks C.
DeleteA lot longer than quite a while. Probably close on ten years now, though not consistently for that long. But I have persisted now for some time, and yes, it has to be right.
Missed your comment on the other blog. So glad you came to that decision. I know the pressure one feels as it has happened to me. Keep looking.
ReplyDeleteJust a note to say I replied to Miriam’s comment (Jan 25, 5.17pm) about shopping at the supermarket beginning with S above. I am late logging in, so it is some way back now - but I would greatly appreciate any answers to my question, posed at the end.
ReplyDeleteShort answer. No.
DeleteYou do not get friendly and helpful service in any supermarket nowadays.
I really like Morrison’s but don’t go to the one 8 miles away in another town since we got a Lidl. We have a coop too but that is so expensive I never use it.
So I do all my shopping at Lidl and make meals out of what is available there. If they don’t have something we’ll thats just tough because I do a weekly shop and refuse to go buying anything else during the week (well apart from milk if we run out) till my next shop. That way I don’t spend too much on food.
That makes, sense, PtbY, & you sound very organized. We use a local Aldi for some things, but, getting back to your question, Archerphile, are you near the one beg. With T. ? That's our regular place, & find them helpful, mostly well stocked, though not invariably with everything we want. A fair amount of organic stuff too - veg & meat. Not particularly helpful, I know, stores vary from place to place; for all I know, our nearest big S. may be brilliant !
DeleteAs usual I'm late (I have a very close relationship with the White Rabbit unfortunately) but have just posted an answer to your question with your question, Archerphil! Sorry!
DeleteArcherphile,no you are not the only person who cooks a joint each Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI do.
If left to myself I would never cook a joint though,ever.
As regards Supermarkets ,we are fortunate in that we have a Lidl's and Iceland next door to one another with a car park behind them.
In the main we can get most things we want from them but we do an online shop at S's in order to buy bulky stuff like cat food and toilet rolls every few weeks and also do a food shop at M and S about every 6weeks.
That suits me asI disliked shopping in large Supermarkets.
I do a roast meal sometimes, not necessarily on a Sunday. Having had many years. doing the healthy thing with potatoes, have now decided to flout the rules and roast them in lard or goose fat. Far superior! I do however keep them on the larger side so that less surface is exposed to fat! I am well within the safety zone for cholesterol though so no worry there. We do most shopping at Aldi filling in at little T just up the road or occasionally M & S. For wine we have a Majestic next to little T and find their wine is good and constant offers make it affordable. I don’t like big supermarkets either, Lanjan and large shopping malls fill me with horror!
ReplyDeleteMy experience of supermarkets.
ReplyDeleteI have now shopped almost exclusively at W..t..s. For the last twenty years, in Putney/ Barnes and now here in S and in other branches when travelling, and I have always found customer service to be of the highest quality, in all branches. It still is in my opinion, and is my main reason for shopping there. In the last two years I have found the quality of the food has deteriorated in some areas, deli still good but fresh produce variable.
I have started to go occasionally to S....b....s and more often to T..co where I have found the fresh produce to be much better than elsewhere.
A week before Christmas we had a new A.di open and in the new year I tried it and of course found most items a great deal cheaper. I was impressed by the fresh produce but did not buy as I have recently started to buy local organic at the Friday market.
At my knitting evening earlier this week all the others had tried Aldi too and most seemed converted.
Reverting to S .......b....s, as a child I loved going to shop there and hated the co op.
I think it was the shiny cleanliness that I appreciated in those post war days.
As an adult I was dedicated.
When my photographer husband took a snapshot of our three year old peeping back at us from her pushchair that had a paper S....b..y carrier bag hanging from the handlebar I suggested he approached the company to offer it.
That photograph became part of the following years advertising campaign for the company, and the fee paid for our pedigree puppy.
A few years later we were approached to pitch for the following months advertising for one of the first major stores to open as the company enlarged its profile. That store was just a few hundred yards from our home.
I set the photographs up with my two tiny girls sitting on the pavement against the advertising hoarding announcing the new store , holding again, S carrier bags.
The photograph chosen then headed up a national campaign and was used across the U.K. as S expanded even further.
My loyalty remained with the company for another two decades.
I find it very sad now to see such an excellent family business in such decline.
Since customer service seems so unimportant to these large supermarkets, the temptation to shop in a supermarket without any intervention from staff seems a sensible option.
Although when in Al..d I was able to find a member of staff to ask a question he readily consulted his hand held device and told me when it would be in stock later that day between four and ten pm.
I was satisfied with that.
Plus of course one very important aspect.... the BEST chocolate !
Sorry about that long post.
DeleteReading it over, I am amazed that I have so much to say about shopping,
Since I did not believe I had any opinions on that subject at all.
I promise to shut up for three days.
But it was fascinating, especially about the puppy earning publicity photos !! What a pity you can't post it here - I bet some of us would remember.it...
DeleteDon't you DARE do a 3 day blog fast, Mrs P !! ( Unless for a proper reason, of course - busy, away, just wanting a break, do other things, & so on...)
Absolutely fascinating Mrs P. Was Mr P a professional photographer? 📸
DeleteDon't do that,Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteRe Wa.t ..se
I visit a town with one of their shops in about once a month.
I always seem to be getting vouchers with "Spend £20 and save £4 " which seem remarkably good to me.
What is more you can use two or more at the same time and use them for alcohol
I once bought a bottle of my favourite Islay malt whisky which was on offer and then saved another £4 .
Great.
Last time I managed to buy two bottles of Pinotage wine which were already on offer,some Andrex toilet rolls at a saving of £1.50 and then wandered round the store looking for something to spend another £3.50 on to make it up to £20 in order to have my bill reduced by £4.
Pathetic but fun.
I think that maybe because you are a shopper WR are hoping too convert lanjan🤗 keep making the most of it though. We have Waitrose, M&S & SB. I believe there is an Aldi on our trading estate. I use SB occasionally as it is near to M&S, WR is our end of town and it is an absolute pleasure to shop there ( coffee shop too).
DeleteYes, lady R ! I often go to a town where a Waitrose is way to pop into if time allows, & there a few things I can only get there, as well as nice coffee AND woodland friends cupcakes...
DeleteWhere WR is ' easy to pop into'...
DeleteI get lots of vouchers from WR, but never seem to be in a position to redeem them.
DeleteYes Lady R. Husband was a professional photographer. Me too for a while, though that is not how we met.
Much of his work, which I sometimes assisted with was as a ' royal photographer '
on the press circuit, but also with other Royal agencies also.
There was a period when we spent every Sunday afternoon at Smiths Lawn covering Polo.
Carolyn, I have a rolled up copy of the poster you mention, but I personally never saw it displayed anywhere. But my mother was often informed by friends that they had seen her granddaughters in some town somewhere.
Thank you for your reply Mrs P most interesting!
DeleteYou might find this a bit maudling.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to offend anyone
Apologies if I do
Read no further if you think I have
I am catching up with today's newspaper.
Now here's a thing I really liked in the letters section.
A woman in her 80s wrote that
"If you want to bring me flowers ,then I want to see them.
If you want to talk about me then I want to hear it
If you would like a champagne and smoked salmon meal at my expense then I want to enjoy it with you."
She goes on to say that she is planning a family "do" next summer on the understanding that there will be no need for a wake.
Brilliant idea.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete....and why not LJ so long as the attendees have nice things to say 😂
DeleteThanks Lady R.
DeleteI should have said that the lady in question said that she was,as far as she knew ,in good health.
In fact I am thinking a bit on those lines at our next meeting up at Waterloo or wherever.
Mind you it won't be smoked salmon.
If I have my way we will all go to Wetherspoon's where you will all be treated to a drink of your choice.
Now if you choose tea or coffee you will get free refills.
If you choose beer I will have to try to get some 50p off vouchers.
If you choose wine or spirits I will just have to be brave and pay the full price!
This will of course be a one off I hope you understand.
Generous to a fault I am!
I have to be a dissenter here. ( NOT to a-Waterloo-or-wherever meet, of course) but to this apparently healthy 80+ yr. old lady's idea. It smacks of attention seeking to me, the benign version of what my grandmother &, later, my mother practised, which h was to make references to changing their Will's if certain things were done or not done, when none of their likely beneficiaries were thinking along the lines of what they might gain from their respective deaths. Blackmail, of an insulting kind. Here, it sounds like simple attention seeking, ' look at me, you may not have me around for much longer' ( it's possible she could last a other 15 yrs. or more..).
DeleteThat's fine Carolyn.
DeleteI don't think she is thinking that way but each to their own.
Not sure that it is anything like how you r mother and grandmother behaved.
I just thought it was a nice idea.and if the lady lives another 15 years or so she will be able to look back at the meal she had with family and friends -some of whom may not be around when she eventually does die.
Perhaps she isn't invited out by younger members of her family who thinks she is too old to go out for meals and it is a way of enjoying a night out.
Who knows.
I suppose it is a bit like a friend of mine who never gives to Charity because she has left bequests in her Will to various good causes.
That is up to her and perhaps some people do give to good causes for the wrong reasons and folk might say it is a bit like being a "Do gooder" donating to Charity but it is usually done anonymously and does it matter if the person who donates the money and doesn't make a meal of doing so ,gets pleasure by doing so?
I think not.
I agree, Lanjan, rarely can any of us put hand on heart & claim we act from unmixed motives. Nothing wrong, or surprising either, in feeling a little pleased with ourselves when we've done '' good deed'. This lady wasn't necessarily conscious she might come across as an attention seeker by a suspicious person like me, & would be surprised that anyone would react like that. Still, I do....
DeleteWhy not give a family& friend's party for no reason ? Let others be free to decide what they want to do, what they can afford to do, to commemorate your life. Imo, it's controlling to do otherwise.
I have heard similar stories LJ. But I have mixed feelings about it.
DeleteI think it's a great idea. I often think I would like to be at my own funeral.
But like Carolyn I am also uncomfortable about the self centred attitude that this displays.
Ah, well, I rather suspect we do attend our own funerals, unseen & unheard ! No proof of that, of course.
DeleteFair enough!Carolyn and Mrs P
DeleteI must admit that I didn't think about the self centred attitude.
I am even prepared to believe I have got the whole Charity thing wrong but surely there is nothing wrong in feeling a bit pleased if you are able to do someone a favour is there?
For example somebody I know gave a large donation for a specific good cause .
He wanted it to be kept a secret .
However the Treasurer and I imagine other members of the Committee obviously knew who the donor was and although I shouldn't have been told about it,I was.
It had nothing to do with me.
I didn't pass on the information and the donor never let on but I bet he got pleasure when he saw the good that it did.
Now is that wrong?
You see I think that it must be nice to see that you have helped in some way rather than thinking that they can have it when you die.
I think I have probably got away from my initial point.
Honestly I haven't been drinking but Carolyn and Mrs P you have made me think.
Lanjan, I certainly agree there's nothing wrong in feeling pleased when one's actions have done some good - that's completely natural.
DeleteJanice.
ReplyDeleteYou have kindly asked for my turkey meatball recipe.
Sorry for the delay. I do it by instinct and feel.
I am still trying to find the original (from a magazine) to give the correct balance of ingredients.
Thank you Miriam. It would be nice to have the correct proportions but don't worry if you can't find it. I wasn't able to get any turkey mince in our local shops so used ordinary mince, with some onion and herbs from the garden , and tried adding some oatflakes instead of breadcrumbs, and an egg to bind it with. I also tend to add ginger, black pepper and turmeric to cooking as good for digestion etc. Apparently black pepper needs to be used with turmeric in order to help it work for good health. I appreciated your suggestions about using turkey mince and oats, because my cholesterol levels are a little bit raised and I know that turkey is a lean meat, and oats help to lower cholesterol, so it is a useful recipe to know about. It is surprising the useful things that appear on this blog, so thanks again to you and also to Ruthy.
DeleteI read an intersting article recently about cooking lessons in schools. The thought is that these are necessary to give children some basic cooking skills.
ReplyDeleteSurely Mums/Grandmas can provide these?
To contradict myself, a 40yr old niece of mine, has still no idea how to cook a roast dinner nor how to make a simple shepherds pie, or a basic victoria sponge. I blame her Mum for her lack of cooking knowledge, not her school.
I learnt to cook from my Mum + Grandma,
My big Sis, the mother of that neice, couldn't be bothered to help out and learn. She is still an awful Cook.
PS Recently when in a local farm veg shop, a young boy asked his Mum, what a veg. was? She had no idea - it was a leek.
DeleteHow times have changed.
Well there you are Miriam. You have answered your own question.
DeleteYou learned to cook in the family.
So did I, and learned further from my M in Law who had her own restaurant.
My daughters learned from me, my mum, and I imagine their stepmother.
But lots of women do not know how to cook and or foot have any interest, therefore have no skills to pass on.
Like your sister.
At least in past times girls at least learned at school.
Cooking is a life skill. I think it should be on the school curriculum.
I didn't do any cooking at school. In the first year 'Domestic Science' (girls only, in those days) was needlework. In the second year I and the other clever-clogs did Latin.
DeleteMy 14 year old grandson often cooks meals for his family. I started off when he and his 9 year old sister were very young making biscuits or cup cakes. He has no desire to become a professional chef however.
ReplyDeleteThank you to everyone for your comments on shopping and various supermarkets. One of you suggested T..co, of which there are 2 in the area but it is a 20 mile round trip to each of them which is rather off-putting. I do occasionally shop at Lidl, which my daughter loves, but find there are quite a few items they don’t stock so I end up having to go to S’s afterwards anyway. Just before Xmas we had an Aldi open in the nearby town, which I have yet to try. It is not very convenient to get to so probably will not be useful for a weekly shop.
ReplyDeleteHowever we do now have a beautiful new W..t...se combined with a J. Lewis home store which I shall definitely be trying. I know their goods are good quality, if rather more expensive than I am used to, but a big plus for me is their easy to use scan and pack system which saves having to unload and re-pack goods at the check out. This is a godsend to me so I think W..t...s will be getting more of my custom in future!
I shop in my local S-------y store usually on the same day each week (early when it's quiet). The staff are friendly and the man on the fish counter couldn't be more helpful. I have been going to the same checkout operator for years and we manage to put the world to rights while I pack my shopping.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, 7.47: You may not have proof, but I have had on several occasions.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you wrote that, Sarnia. I have had experiences convincing to me, but don't expect them to be accepted as 'proof' in the usual sense of the word.
DeleteIt is rather as you say, Janice, some feelings are not readily expressible. They are clear to the heart but not so quickly translated to the head.
Now there's an interesting comment Sarnia. Would you like to explain more or is it too personal? I have a good friend from childhood times who has been, and is seriously ill, and she has been sustained through it all by a visionary experience which she had when she was about 40, and she then became a totally committed and practising Christian. She said the experience was realer than anything she had ever experienced before in her life, and that it was almost impossible to describe it in words.
ReplyDeleteI was convinced I heard my uncle saying goodbye when he was being buried. I didn’t tell anyone because I thought they would think I was imagining it, but it was a very powerful experience and reassuring at the time. I have also felt the presence of people in particular places shortly after their death - my gran in her sitting room and my father with me in church but again I didn’t know whether to believe it, or just dismiss it as a trick of the mind at the time of bereavement. Each time though it was a positive experience rather than disturbing or worrying.
DeleteI know exactly what you are all alluding to 🤫 often a comfort.
DeleteHow interesting to read the posts yesterday about learning to cook and the fact that many of today’s youngsters seem unable or unwilling to it.
ReplyDeleteLike most girls of my generation I learnt to cook from my mother - especially cakes and puddings and also a wide variety of traditional Jewish dishes. I especially remember one called ‘Stuffed Monkey’ which was a delicious sweet flan filled with eggs, ground almonds, cinnamon, spices, candied peel and other things. Mum made great use of her ‘Florence Greenburg’s Jewish Cookbook’ which I still have today. Sadly, though I tried very hard to include her, my daughter never showed any interest in cooking (or knitting, dressmaking or any other ‘female activities) and still, at the age of 48, is happy to let her husband do most of the cooking for their family meals.
However, I am thrilled that cookery and other domestic skills seem
to have bypassed a generation and my granddaughter and grandsons have become excellent cooks and often ask for recipie books and cooking equipment for birthday gifts. So all is not lost!
How is the lurgy GG ?
ReplyDeleteStill on the sofa ?
Hey MrsP!
DeleteStill got the dreaded lurgy & still curled up on the sofa watching awful, awful TV shows. I am as happy as Larry!
While I'm here - why is everyone blanking out letters in supermarket names? V*ry, v*ry s*range....😕
I don’t know GG! I just followed on! Guess we all think we’re still with the BBC! Do you remember when they changed the name of Top Cat because it was the name of a cat food? They called him Boss Cat when announcing the program!
DeleteBut his intellectual close friends still got to call him TC...😉
DeleteI just spelt my shops in full GG, but I guess it was with the beeb in mind that others curtailed theirs.
DeleteKeep enjoying your awful tv progs to edge your recovery onwards and upwards 🙏
Correction GG looking back I used abbreviations but not *** & letters 🙄 another senior moment!
DeleteGG. When I did the blanking out I wondered why I was doing it and decided that I was, like Ev said, following on.
DeleteI agree, it's silly. And time consuming too.
Keep on lounging until you feel some energy approaching.
Then have a nice cup of tea.
Weird, far-fetched experience warning!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, Janice, Seasider, here goes: as an organist you will appreciate that funerals form a staple part of my work, so I have learned to take it for granted that sometimes the 'star of the show' is likely to be present. The two most striking examples are as follows:
1. Back in the 1980s I played the funeral of a man who had died in a traffic incident, courtesy of a driver who had a heart-attack at the wheel. The car mounted the pavement and struck the pedestrian, flinging him into the air; his landing inflicted an appalling fatal injury, from which it took six weeks for him to die.
As I was playing one of the hymns I felt a disturbance beside me, I became aware of a presence sitting on the balcony railing and swinging its feet. I heard, 'Oooh, this is fun, look what I can do'. Now, the organ loft in that church is at least 15 feet above contradiction, so sitting on the railing wouldn't be advisable, and the balustrades were sturdy and solid, but this chap's legs and feet were passing right through them.
I then heard, 'I'm enjoying this service, it's got all my favourite hymns'. Obviously, this one didn't know he was dead so I hastily repressed the idea just in case this accessibility of thought was a two-way process, because I didn't want him to find out from me. At the end, as the cortege prepared to leave the church there came, 'Ooh, this is interesting, they're all leaving. I think I'll follow them to see where they're going', and with that I felt a breath of air as he swooped back down into the Nave.
This was fairly near the beginning of my career and it left me badly shaken, so on the way home I called in on the curate who had conducted the service. When I had explained the situation, he said that now it all made sense. He had been very distracted during the service, almost as if there was an insect buzzing in his ear, and he'd found it difficult to concentrate. He decided that because he was operating at 'ground level' so to speak, he couldn't focus on the nature of the disturbance, but in my 'altered state of consciousness' when disappearing into the music I became open to thoughts from a different dimension.
2. In the early 90s I played the funeral of a girl who had died in a mountaineering accident. She came from a privileged background offering many choices, had just finished her first degree and was debating what to do next with her life - travel perhaps, or a PhD. She had gathered friends together to celebrate her 21st birthday half-way up a mountain and then, half-way through the party, she fell off.
Although by now I was well-versed in the business of professional detachment I found this one really hard, because she had so much to offer and all that potential would never be fulfilled. It seemed so wrong that she should die just on the threshold of such a promising adulthood, whereas I had always had to take the path laid down for me by others and now in middle age, was unlikely ever to achieve very much.
At the end of the service I was sitting quietly at the organ, feeling guilty at still being here when she was dead, when a gale of - something - came rushing round the corner of the instrument and paused next to me. She said something like, 'Oh, no, you mustn't think that, everything is exactly as it should be. I've had a lot of fun out of my life and I died having fun, but you were meant to last. You still have your best work to do and you need time. That would have been wasted on me, as I wouldn't have known what to do with it. This is the right way round.
There have been others less intrusive, but these two both died violently, so I suppose the experience for them was more intense. Nowadays the funerals are mostly for people in their 80s and 90s who are very tired and glad to go, so if they do turn up the presence is too faint for me to be aware of it.
Sarnia, I expect there are plenty of people who would call those stories wierd or far fetched, as per your introduction, or have some sort of scientific explanation, but the truth is, we don’t know what’s on the other side, we only know what we have experienced here, and those sound like powerful and moving experiences to me. Thank you for sharing them.
DeleteThank you so much for posting your experiences, Sarnia. Makes perfect sense to me, & to many others. Those were such striking examples, following sudden deaths - as if neither had left except in the most sense physical aspect; both could transfer thought/speech, & the man sounded a cheerful chappie, swinging his legs & enjoying the hymns ! When the fact of his death eventually dawned, I hope he reconciled & accepted. As for the girl, that's rather wonderful, that she accepted so soon. I imagine the older, tired folk had no need to manifest in any communicative way, but they were there, & you were aware. It seems to me you are particularly sensitive.
DeleteYes thank you ,Sarnia.
DeleteI found your post very moving and believable .
I agree wholeheartedly Sarnia - thank you for sharing 😇
DeleteThank you very much for that Sarnia. 😊
DeleteAnd my thanks too Sarnia.
DeleteVery moving and for me, makes absolute sense.
My mother who had been very close to her father, often ' saw ' him, always at the foot of the bed, and it was always when she was troubled by something in her life.
My father was very 'ready to go ' and the week before visited both my sister and I out of the blue. He took a rose bush to my sister and brought a rhubarb root to me.
I had very recently moved and had hung 'his ' clock on the wall in the hallway.
The day after he died the clock stopped. I felt sure it was because he had not yet moved on. But it never did work again.
Time, and clock pieces were my fathers greatest obsession.
Thanks very much, all of you. Such encounters are usually written off as 'tricks of the mind' on the part of the bereaved, but in my case there is no such emotional involvement, I'm simply doing my job. If I am able to report such phenomena objectively from a professional perspective as being far from unusual, then the bereaved should feel free to take comfort from whatever experience comes their way.
DeleteWhat awful high winds I have had today. I was starting a new jigsaw, but not sure why I was feeling cold air. The wind was so strong, it was blowing the cat flap open, so locked it closed and forgot about it.
ReplyDeleteYes - suddenly heard loud meows and banging, as pusscat couldn't get out.
All is now well, as have a very relieved cat. 😺 😀
🤗😊
DeleteJanice. Sorry for the delay.
ReplyDeleteThe turkey meatball recipe...
500g of 2% turkey breast mince, 4 tablespoons oats, 1 crushed garlic clove - all mixed together by hand, with either dried sage + thyme, or 1 tsp of crushed fennel seeds, to taste.
Make into round meatballs, put into fridge, for 2hrs plus, to firm up. Make a sauce to suit. I "sweat down" a finely sliced fennel bulb, a garlic glove, with finely chopped onion, carrot, and a celery stick, to which is added a carton of chopped tomatoes + chicken/vegetable stock in equal quantities. Brown the turkey balls, add to the sauce, of your choice, and either simmer on the hob, or put in oven, until cooked. Thicken sauce with cornflour, if needed. Great with pasta or potatoes and green veg- brocolli, cabbage, leeks etc
This is a cheap, cheerful, tasty + healthy meal, and worth the effort + time, which is not that bad.
That's great thank you Miriam. I am going to write the recipe down now. It is nice to hear of something different to try, and I hadn't thought of putting them in the fridge to help keep their shape, so that is useful to know. I am just an old fashioned "plain" cook who learnt as a child that men who were farming had to be fed well because of their physical work in all weathers. My mother came from Portsmouth, and she always said that when she first married she couldn't boil an egg because of having so many older sisters who did the cooking. My Cornish grandmother and great aunts all set to teaching her and it wasn't long before she could cook pasties and pies and cakes with the best of them! One of my great aunts used to get an absolutely lovely flaky sugary crust on top of her sponges, and I still can't match it. Thanks again Miriam.😊
DeleteMy grandmother controlled our kitchen having learned to cook in farm kitchens before she got married. She thought we were all hungry farmers and fed us hearty fare. Didn’t trust my mother in the kitchen who was busy working full time anyway and when I tried to practise my school recipes she scorned the methods I was being taught. I eventually gained confidence in the kitchen by cooking for a dozen to twenty people in a community in Devon, where I worked with people with a learning disability. I still don’t like dinner parties though.
DeleteI do like the sound of your recipe, Miriam. Thanks for digging that out and sharing it.
Sounds good. Got some turkey mince in the freezer. Will give it a go later in the week.
ReplyDeleteI posted this previously but it came at the end of a blog and was lost in the mix. I had to smile when someone commented that at Brian and Jennifer's party there was an old loud guitar band playing. It was 'Won't Get Fooled Again' by The Who. I wouldn't have imagined that The Who were ever Brian and Jennifer's favourites. It was one of the anthems of my youth and I still like to play it occasionally when I fancy remembering feeling young again.
ReplyDeleteMust admit that I was surprised at some of the music being played at their party too. Some of it seemed much too Pop to me - I would have expected more subdued light classical or even Beatles if they wanted something more upbeat. The Beatles and music of the 60s was definitely my era and I am the same age as Jennifer!
DeleteBrian is a Rolling Stones fan. All the same, the Aldridges bothering Kirsty with their old-fashioned taste in music was a bit far-fetched.
Deleteplan B seems to be working so far....🦅
ReplyDelete🅱🅱❓
DeleteFA cup : Palace beat Spurs yesterday, hence the Eagle....
Deleteplan A was Grimsby Town (home town) heart-breakingly knocked out by Palace last round.
lived & worked several yrs in SE London, went to Selhurst Pk several times, also support Palace!
I thought you may have offered your plan B to the beleaguered Maybot.
DeleteHa ! noo..
DeleteI have a soft spot for Palace even though they stopped us (Liverpool) winning the League title a few years ago .
DeleteMy son and grandson were coming over from Canada and I became a temporary member of CPalace to get them tickets for that match.
Then for some reason the match was postponed and was played on the day they flew back to Canada.
The lovely lady in the Ticket Office refunded all my money.
Reading all the comments about food and shopping reminds of sitting around the table,seven of us, waiting for my mother to pass the cake bowl around so we could all have a lick. She was a marvellous cook, and whilst all my friends had boring food, we had pasta, soups of many varieties, chicken was every Friday, doughnuts, cakes Eastern Europe dishes with lots of onions and garlic. She also grew all her own salads. Food was very important to my mother.
ReplyDeleteThat maybe the reason why we have all turned out to be foodies.
Sounds lovely Stasia, so nostalgic! The favourites from my childhood food at home were my Mums batter deep-fried fish which was always served cold at Saturday lunchtime (a Jewish thing!) and her steamed puddings dripping with golden syrup. Yum!
DeleteMy most hated meal was her boiled beef and carrots served in a large soup dish with very watery ‘gravy’ and bits of boiled veg floating around, always very salty. Actually I think it might have been salt beef and my Dad loved it.
I love salt beef in a sandwiche, with a large gherkin. I hated it when my mother added barley to her chicken soup. Ruined it for me. An E. European thing, I have always found barley disgusting. My mother was predominantly a vegetarian, so no pork, lamb or fish. She did cook a lot of chicken , from which she would extract the unshelled eggs for cakes. Also beef for stews and sausages.
DeleteCan't buy a chicken like that anymore.
Salt beef on white not rye with gherkins one of my favourites too.
DeleteBut I also love barley especially in Irish stew. One of my mums best dishes.
I buy my chicken from a local farm shop. It is free-range but not organic. It is well worth paying the slightly higher price, as compared to a supermarket, as it just tastes like chicken should. Also the XL free range eggs from the same outlet, are gorgeous with deep yellow yolks. I often have a poached or scrambled egg on toast for lunch.
ReplyDeleteIt makes a difference from soup, which seems to be the staple lunch in Ambridge. Only Clarrie seems to be heard using eggs, which are for Joe + Eddie's morning fry up only.
I wonder how Jill's new chickens are doing
I am doing an Edwina Currie, concentrating on eggs but for a different reason. Fallon + Emma have the Tea Shop + also do a catering service. But do they say that they use locally produced eggs in their
Deletehome-cooked products? .
I rescued a bumble bee today. It was seen on the outside of my bedroom, on the window-sill, lethargic and trying to fly but couldn't. As I don't have a sweet tooth, I had no jam, marmalade or similar available. Instead I had a syrupy cough mixture, of which I put a tiny bit by it. It worked as I saw it lapping it up literally. 10 mins later, it flew away. I hope I disn't poison it.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Miriam. It may be that the bumble bee's hour had come, but even if so, it departed this life with a full stomach and knowing someone cared.
Delete👍
DeleteIt was very cold and sunny here today but I didn’t see any bees. I did see the snowdrops and hellebores in Chelsea Physic Garden. Some were wrapped in soil, moss and wire and hanging from trees. A Japanese tradition apparently.
ReplyDeleteI have crocuses, and snowdrops in flower. It is far too early. My window box planted with winter pansies, is in full bloom and is very proliferent + colurful, as is a hanging basket with purple/yellow violas, also doing really well.
DeleteThis might soon change, hower, if the forecast for snow/ice over the next few days, becomes true.
DeleteI live in the River Dee Valley in Cheshire, so normally escape the bad weather and hopefully will do so again.
It's been a beautiful day here today if somewhat cold, so I've been sorting out my pond plants before we leave for Singapore on Thursday. We recently had the pond made smaller for easier maintenance and the plants were in a bit of a mess. I wanted to get the job done in case the frogs decide to spawn while we are away. The excess pond has been made into a bog garden which I've never had before. Having done some research on bog gardens I'm now not sure that I've achieved my objective of lower maintenance!
DeleteThe garden is quite colourful for the time of year with cyclamen, heathers, hellebores, primulas and snowdrops in full flower.
DeleteEnjoy your time in Singapore, sounds lovely. As I live in West Cheshire, it is always much warmer and hardly get any snow, but the westerly winds!! When I was working I often had a nasty shock, leaving home with just frost, to arrive at work in Wales, 18miles away, to find a foot of snow. I always kept boots in the car and were needed at times.
DeleteOh how lovely to be going to Singapore,Cheshire Cheese.
DeleteIt is such a clean place and law abiding.
At least it was when I was last there.
Changi Airport has been voted the best airport in the world and it is certainly the best one that I have been to.
The people are so pleasant and friendly.
I once arrived there on the day before my birthday and at Passport Control was wshed a happy birthday and another time because my previous surname was the same as a member of a well known Pop Group I was asked if he was any relation.
I had to say "no".
I am envious.
Have a great time.CC
I’ve got nothing out in my garden.
ReplyDeleteI recently bought a bird table and have placed it outside our living room window. We seem to have one solitary robin that comes to it, nothing else. I’m putting it down to being a mild winter and other birds have enough elsewhere.
I have bought a bunch of daffs the last two weeks when food shopping. I do love them. They instantly brighten up a room and at 95p a bunch they are an affordable treat every week.
I often buy a pot of 3 Hyacinth bulbs for £3. They grow quickly, then flower for quite a while, (cuŕrent ones
Deletein flower for 2 weeks now) and the scent - well its strong.
My problem is squirrels. They keep digging holes in the lawns, retrieving nuts which were buried, and so stored, last year. No idea how they know exactly where they were buried, but they somehow do.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I need a squirrel, to put things away and then remember where they are.
DeleteThe squirrel has broken one of our bird feeders .
ReplyDeleteOur most common visitors though are the noisy parakeets.
We once had over 100 in a tree at the bottom of the garden and there are usually four or five at any one time eating the sunflower hearts.
I haven't seen daffs in the shops yet but like you P tb Y I love them.
If you get them when they are in bud they last a week.
I cheated today and bought some more primulas only white cream or yellow
They were only £3 for 6 so I got 3lots.
Didn't somebody once mention colours to represent the Seasons ?
In our garden except for the quince which is red most flowers and bushes at this time of year are white cream or yellow which I love -hellebores and the daffs and snowdrops etc.
Then comes purple with the aubesia and pansiesand pulmonaria
Aren't Seasons great?
It will soon be Spring.
My favourite.
I love spring too. We lived in Hong Kong for two years in ,the seventies and there were no seasons as such just 9 months of summer weather, hot and humid and three months of winter with pleasanter temperatures of 16 degrees or so. How I missed the seasons though especially spring and the British summer! I also missed new potatoes, brussel sprouts and country lanes! There’s no place like home!
DeleteSnowdrop country round here. I know that they are elsewhere in abundance too but they do seem to be a specialty around this area.
ReplyDeleteBut sadly none in my garden.
I need to rectify that.
I envy you at The Physic Seasider. I miss my London haunts.
Ah, yes I would have plenty to miss if I moved away permanently. So lucky to have a foot in two camps at the moment. I have managed to get a few snowdrops to flower in my garden including some with my surname, which came from Chelsea Physic Garden. I bought some more of those yesterday to take up north.
DeleteSounds lovely though where you are Mrs P. Snowdrops in the wild are really special. I saw some in the lanes of Exmoor last year. Beautiful.
Quite by chance this time last year I took a previously unknown road through a wooded area and there on my right the whole wooded slope was a mass of white. At first I thought it was snow, then realised it was a mass of snowdrops.
DeleteMust return this year and stop the car this time. I think I remember where it was.
When I left Seasider, there was an understanding that I could return anytime to a London daughters for a few days whenever I wished.
However, SinL continued problems have made it difficult to do so.
Our get together in December may have been my last trip for the time being.
Can't afford hotels.
That is a shame Mrs P. Thank goodness you came to the December meet.
DeleteI think it’s so much nicer now I can put some faces to names.
Never say never Mrs P .
DeleteRe snowdrops.
I still only have one although I buy some every year to add to those I have or thought I had already.
I do have a mass of white though later in the year which I wish I didn't -those wretched wild garlic........
I used to think how lovely they looked with the bluebells .
Not any more .
They have spread and spread and spread and .............
Snowdrops just coming through here, hellebores are lovely! Expecting 130kph winds tonight - storm Gabriel.. all shutters will be firmly closed.
ReplyDeleteI have an early red tulip coming into flower, but the flower stalk is only about 1 inch tall. So wierd and so early. Some of my tete-a-tete have been in flower for a week now, in spite of ice/frosts.
ReplyDeleteAt least no snow yet.
Delete....and what’s with daises being out in such cold weather 🙄
We’ve got snow, so as soon as I got home I made a snow bunny similar to the one on the previous blog, my daughter was amused. It is now on the garden wall and I am heating up a stew for supper and will then snuggle down in front of the log burner. I hope everyone else is staying warm and safe.
ReplyDeleteDog Alert :
ReplyDeleteI shall be going to the bank tomorrow to pay my deposit for a dog, adoption of which agreed this afternoon.
Mrs P, that’s so exciting. Looking forward to hearing more. Lots of luck to you and Puss.
DeleteRe your earlier post. I do hope you are proved wrong re staying in London again if you wish to do so. I can imagine though if you don’t feel welcome it’s not something you would look forward to repeating.
Wow ! That is some news, Mrs P. Look forward to hearing more in due course....
DeleteMrs P I,m over the moon for you.I hope she brings you as much happiness as my little dog has. This is reason to celebrate.
ReplyDeleteEarly days.
ReplyDeleteThings can, and do, go wrong.
Will post positive news when it happens.
But thanks to all for encouragement.
Much appreciated.
Stay positive Mrs P. That is half the battle so to speak.
DeleteDon't laugh, but I am celebrating with a pot of coffee this morning, sadly a very rare treat these days.
Perhaps I will have a small glass of sherry !
ReplyDeleteYes do Mrs P & fingers crossed for you 🐕 🤗
DeleteTremendous news Mrs P. I do hope it all works out well for you, please keep us all updated.
DeleteMyself, Gypsy and Buddy send best wishes and fingers crossed it works out and you have your dog at last, Mrs P!
DeleteDidn’t look on blog before bed last night....missed the tremendous news.
DeleteFingers crossed all goes well Mrs P. Can’t wait to hear the updates.
All the best, MrsP, but don't let us pressure you!
DeleteRe snow : it started snowing here at 5 pm this evening, got quite excited as wanted to take photos of a snowy garden to send out to the grandsons in Dubai.
ReplyDeleteIt’s now 10pm and there’s not a snowflake to be seen anywhere - what did fall has all melted already and everywhere is just wet and dripping.
Don’t know whether to be pleased or disappointed! ❄️🌧💧
No snow in our part of the island contrary to the forecast - just rain so far!
DeletePlenty of snow here this morning
DeleteMrs P I am echoing all the good wishes regarding your proposed adoption and sincere hopes that things 'mend' re the daughter and SinL situation.
ReplyDeleteWell it snowed here in north Kent right on time last night (predicted 9pm) and very cold this morning but with sunshine and blue skies at the moment.
I am early rising at the moment to drive future dinl to work at 6.30am as her car has been damaged due to a van driver running into the back of a line of stationary cars waiting to join a main road. Son and partner were second in a line of four which all got shunted forward. Needless to say said van driver has turned out to be un-MOT'd and uninsured. He said his brakes failed, I suspect he was texting or something. Anyway the police are now after him as the insurance company has been unable to contact. Some people🤬 Especially when my R & K are trying so hard to save up for their own house!
Car covered in snow this morning which had iced up underneatth so very diffuicult to clear before driving. I think more snow is forecast today but I only have a local lesson to do this evening so should be ok.
Hope everyone else manages to stay warm and safe!
So sorry, and furious, to hear about your son’s car damage at the hands of a road thug - well that’s what I would call the uninsured driver with a probably dodgy car! There should be much higher penalties for such people and their vehicles confiscated. I would ban them from driving too - for a long time!!
DeleteStill no snow here but a frosty morning. I bought my daughter one of those insulated windscreen covers which also has wing mirror gloves attached. It saves time in the morning but today the top had folded back! Maybe not attached properly. I had a headache so went back to bed accompanied by Buddy. We had a nice sleep and now must get on with chores and walkies hopefully after frost has gone. It is brightening up and the sun might peep through. I join Archerfile in deploring your son’s car being damaged by some uncaring individual and hope it can be sorted soon, Spicy.
DeleteDelighted to hear your news Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing the updates.
CC. Have a great time.☀️🛬
ReplyDeleteI woke up to very heavy snow falling, which settled very quickly. It melted quite quickly but there is still some on the back lawn and hedges, and on the shady parts of the road. I have to say, that I din't envy my neighbours, when watching them trying to drive to work. Forecast is for temps of -5C overnight, and freezing fog.
ReplyDeleteI hope Manchester Airport, is OK for you tomorrow Cheshire Cheese.
Have a great trip.
Now 5.15pm. It still quite light + bright, but my car is already iced up, and what was a wet road outside, is now very icy.
DeleteI don't know where Ruthy lives, but I hope that she is safe + well, after seeing the awful situation in the Midwest in the USA. I cannot envisage what Chicago is experiencing, at -27C.
ReplyDeleteMy very thought too Miriam it doesn’t sound good at all. Thinking of you Ruthy...❤️
DeleteMiriam.....meatballs bubbling in a pan of tomato sauce as we speak.
ReplyDeleteThanks to those of you who have said they hope that our travel plans for Singapore tomorrow are not disrupted by the weather. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteHope you have an unexceptional flight and a successful visit CC.
DeleteLook forward to any travel blogs.... if you feel like it.
ReplyDeleteSafe journey.
Enjoy your travels CC!
ReplyDeleteAnd Ruthy - hope you're tucked up safe & warm in defiance of that Polar Vortex!
Thank you GG - just posted on the other blog as PtbY has asked. Definitely cooooold! We've got warm heat and a fireplace and lots of booze.
DeleteWell, seeing as I'm still off the boozahol you can have an extra one for me...! ❄🔥🍻
DeleteMiriam and Lady R - just read your post. We are tucked away! Unfortunately have a meeting in Manhattan in the morning. Not looking forward to the commute. Not as cold as Chicago but cold enough.
ReplyDeleteCC - have a safe trip.
We had snow last night here in Northern Italy and I had to cancel an appointment for this morning as the roads are icy. Safe journey to you all.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy a great trip, CC !
ReplyDeleteOh, Ruthy, weather news from the States this morning is appalling, & scary in some places, & very challenging in others. Do take great care. On the phone to a friend in Florida last night & even there the temperatures are relatively low : some people wearing jumpers, no need for aircon...
That made me laugh....some people wearing jumpers!!
DeleteI know, different world !
DeleteGary....we have just booked 3 nights in Glasgow to escape war weekend where we live. (Google Pickering war weekend.....total takeover of town by grown ups playing fancy dress....I hate it).
ReplyDeleteI would really appreciate some advice of places to visit.
I like art galleries. Husband likes museums.
Husband and friend like pubs. I like cocktail bars.
Any recommendations.
Noting it will be mid October so maybe not a sitting outside type of place.
Is that on the steam railway? I ran into something similar in Devon a few years ago. The railway carriage with vintage bric-a-brac and 40s music was fun but I found the folk dressed in army uniforms a bit disturbing. War isn’t a leisure activity in my opinion, but maybe I got the wrong end of the stick.
DeleteHas anyone seen the goth weekend in Whitby? Now that’s dressing up.
Yes seasider it is on the railway. The town is taken over. It’s horrendous.
DeleteSeen some of them dressed up in Whitby. How they walk in some of those goth boots astounds me. All this steam punk dressing up is out of this world.
Delighted to advise PtbY! No shortage of galleries or museums, nevermind licensed premises in Glasgow...
DeleteHave just Googled Pickering war weekend. I'm with Seasider. Shudder...😕
When I went to Whitby last it was in October.
DeleteThere were lots of goths around.
I know you youngsters can climb hills but my son said he was worried that I wouldn't make it up to the Abbey.
Well maybe not but when we came down he suggested we walked up the hill -not as steep -on the other side to see the (Whale bones? )
We then went to an old fashioned café a bit like ,but preferable to ,Betty's.
Safe journeys, those who are travelling, Ruthy and Cheshire Cheese and anyone else on the move.
ReplyDeleteI have distant relatives in Michigan (I haven’t met them but have slight contact) so I have just emailed. I hope they are coping. They did have a farm up there and I think still do, but may have retired from it by now.
It is very spectacular, though I try and keep away from town at times like that as parking is a problem. There is even a Goth B&B.
ReplyDeleteI bumped into them a few years ago when I happened to be staying in Whitby. I don’t remember mention of the Dracula connection when I was growing up in the area. It’s certainly taken off.
DeleteA couple of years ago we had booked into that very B&B CowGirl, and while we were en route they called to cancel the booking because the person with the keys couldn't meet us! Was so disappointed. Loved Whitby - one of my favourite books is Dracula.
DeleteSadly the B&B looks a bit run down now.
DeleteP.S. Weather up in the West of Scotland is stunning! Everything is coated in thick frost and there is not a cloud in the sky. I am just back from a cruise on Loch Lomond this morning and it was glorious...
ReplyDeleteStunning here too, just been for a walk at Scaling Dam a reservoir used now for leisure.The reservoir was frozen over, not enough for ice skating though, the sun was shining and we had the place to ourselves, save a barn owl hunting, who we often see. With rabbits and mice to sniff out it is doggy heaven.
DeleteI take it you are now fully recovered.
-9 in our back garden this morning. Decided not to go out, so cleaned the silver instead, am now waiting for the snow which we have been told is coming.
DeleteKeep warm everyone,
All this talk of Scotland has made me nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteWhen my boys were little we always spent holidays -summer and autumn -in Scotland so much so that both boys chose to go to Scottish Universities.
My younger " train buff "son is up there now.
He has based himself in Inverness and is travelling round the area for a few days by train.
I am so envious.
He has revisited the places we went to all those years ago-Kyle of Lochalsh,Dingwall.Helmsdale etc and sent me stunning photos of places covered in snow.
Did you know Ptb Y (of course you are probably too young!) that you can get some form of rail card for the over 50s.?
I will text him now and find out what it is.
Like his mother he gets a kick out of saving a few pence.
I'm envious of him too Lanjan!
DeleteHave had a reply.
ReplyDeleteScotrail.co .uk
Club 50
I think 3 times a year you can go anywhere by train in Scotland for £17
Amazing.
Half price soft drinks and tea as well.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the world small today, thanks to social media + wi-fi.
ReplyDeleteI have received some wonderful photos + videos from OZ today, showing my great nephew, just 1yr old + my niece, who is now 5 months pregnant, again -( a holiday mistake!). It was strange to seem them in the heat of summer wearing strappy clothes, as so hot, wheras as I have a warm, chunky polo-neck jumper on.
It is lovely to be able to keep up with family + friends, wherever they are.
To add. After seeing many photos of America and the polar vortex, it reminded me so much of the film - The Day After Tomorrow. This was fantasy, but now seems quite realistic
ReplyDelete.
I hope Cheshire Cheese travels have/are going as planned.
ReplyDelete